A HOUSEHOLDER uncovered more than he bargained for while renovating an ancient farmhouse.

Allan Honeybell found human remains dating back 1,500 years while building a pond in the garden of Spittal Farm, Staxton, near Scarborough.

"We initially discovered a couple of bones and then a skull so we rang the police and they put us in contact with the county archaeological department," he said.

They were buried about three feet below the surface on the site of what is believed to have been an Anglo-Saxon hospital.

Archaeologists found a total of eight skeletons, together with those of a horse, pottery, and jewellery. One male, who they believe was the village leader, was found buried with precious stones round his head and with a weapon at his side.

Spittal Farm is close to the famous Star Carr archaeological site which dates back to the Mesolithic Age, about 5,000 years ago.

Mr Honeybell, a former caravan park owner, said he intends to place a stone plinth on the site where the bones have been re-buried.

Archaeologists, who carried out DNA tests, say the skeletons were of people who appeared to have died from a number of causes, including blows to the head.